LOS ANGELES — Guard Marcus Smart accepted responsibility for the Los Angeles Lakers’ turnover problems following Wednesday night’s 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers committed 15 turnovers, six of them by Smart, allowing Houston to extend the series to a sixth game. “We’ve been through this,” Smart said postgame. “They’re very aggressive and we’ve got to take care of the basketball. I had six turnovers and only two assists — that’s unacceptable, especially against this team.”
Houston entered the postseason among the league’s best at forcing turnovers, relying on a physical, high-pressure defense. Smart emphasized that Los Angeles understood the challenge but failed to execute. “We know what it is,” he added. “If you can’t even get a shot on the rim, it’s always going to hurt. The game plan is right; we just have to capitalize.”
The Lakers’ defense limited the Rockets to 99 points, yet the offensive miscues prevented them from building momentum and kept the home crowd quiet. Forward LeBron James also pointed to offensive inconsistency when addressing reporters after the game.
Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night in Houston, where Los Angeles will get another chance to close out the series.
Source: Lakers Nation
